Which Kindle Fire video streaming service is best?

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Let’s say you’ve looked at our side-by-side comparisons with the Nook Tablet, and have decided to go with the Kindle Fire as your tablet of choice this holiday season. Maybe you know that you can stream some video to it, but don’t know much more than that. Which service or services will give you the best bang for your buck?

The three most prominent video streaming services on the Fire are going to be Amazon’s Prime service, Netflix, and Hulu Plus. Each brings something a little different to the table, but there will be one clear choice for most people. Let’s look at how the three compare in the key categories: content, accessibility, and price.

Content

One of the first things you’re going to be wondering about is each service’s content selection. Each company has hammered out their own deals with Hollywood studios and premium cable networks, so you’ll be getting a different library with each service.

The content library of Netflix is as good as you’ll find, and leans much more towards movies than Hulu does. There are also plenty of complete older television seasons available (just don’t expect to see any current seasons). The company describes their library as carrying “thousands” of movies and TV episodes available to watch instantly. A lot of that is junk that no sober person would ever watch, but there is also a decent selection of quality titles–including some that have only recently been released on Blu-ray/DVD.

If you’ve ever watched anything on Hulu, you’ll know that the company is almost entirely focused on current-run network television. They have expanded their services within the last couple of years to include movies, but that selection is minimal compared to the other two services. For this reason, Hulu Plus is probably more of a complementary service to Netflix than a true rival.

That brings us to Amazon Prime, which has a decent–but somewhat confusing–selection. While Amazon Instant Video has a massive iTunes-esque selection of content to rent or buy, the buffet of streaming content for Prime customers is sparse. They promise “thousands” of titles, but at this point Netflix’s library is much stronger.

We created a sampling of top-grossing and award-winning movies and television shows across the three services. As you will see, none of the subscriptions is going to give you a lot of choice in these departments.

1. Recent Best Picture Academy Award winners:

2. Older Best Picture Academy Award winners:

3. The last five Top Grossing Films of the Year:

4. Current Award-winning TV shows (only Hulu will have current season):

Perhaps the biggest thing that the above comparisons tells us is that the more successful something is, the less likely it is to show up for streaming. Hollywood knows what content it can sell on its own, and these streaming services are more likely to give you leftovers than main entrées.

However, when you look at the three libraries as a whole, Netflix does have the best overall selection. While they don’t have Avatar, The King’s Speech, or The Dark Knight, you will still find popular titles like Iron Man 2, Star Trek (2009), and Tron: Legacy. Neither Hulu Plus nor Amazon Prime can boast of that.

Accessibility

Another big factor to consider is the other devices that you will be able to watch your content on. All three services are available on a variety of platforms, but some are currently more far-reaching than others.

One of Netflix’s biggest strengths is accessibility. If you’re going to watch on something other than just your Kindle Fire, Netflix can also be streamed to video game consoles, select integrated TVs, set-top boxes, smartphones, other tablets, and PCs. You will want to double check the specific devices you’re looking for before subscribing, but the list of supported hardware is a big advantage.

Hulu Plus can also be accessed on a lot of different devices. Its content can be viewed on gaming consoles, connected TVs, smartphones, tablets, and more. Of course Hulu’s website can be accessed by any Flash-running desktop web browser (it’s blocked on mobile devices).

Accessibility is another area where Amazon Prime comes up short. It can be viewed on PCs and select integrated TVs, but not on gaming consoles. The Kindle Fire is also the only mobile device that Prime streaming is currently compatible with.

Price

For streaming alone, Netflix will ring you up $7.99 per month. That comes out to $95.88 a year. You can cancel anytime, and if you’ve never tried Netflix before, you can get a full month’s free trial before paying up.

Hulu Plus is priced identically to Netflix, at $7.99 per month ($95.88 annually). Like Netflix, you aren’t bound to anything beyond the month you’ve already paid for. Unfortunately, even though you are paying almost $100/yr., you will still have to watch commercials for most content. If you’re a new subscriber, you can get a one-week free trial with Hulu Plus.

Amazon Prime costs $79 per year, and must be paid in one lump annual sum. However, streaming is only part of the package with Prime. You also get free two-day shipping on applicable orders from Amazon (most items that aren’t from a third-party reseller), and you can borrow one free eBook per month. Customers who purchase the Fire get a month-long free trial of Amazon Prime.

Summing Up

Many Kindle Fire owners will likely gravitate towards Amazon Prime for streaming, as it’s featured so prominently in the tablet’s UI. Unfortunately, it has a sub-par content library, the least amount of devices supported, and requires you to pay for a full year up front. If you’re getting Prime for the Amazon shipping discounts, then look at the streaming as a nice little bonus. Otherwise, you’d be wise to stay away.

Hulu Plus is a great service for those who want to watch the latest episodes of network TV shows, but not for anyone else. The selection of cable programs isn’t particularly impressive, and the movie library is hardly worth mentioning. Having to watch commercials on a service that you’re already paying for certainly doesn’t help matters.

Netflix easily has the strongest library, it’s streamable on many other devices, and you can pay month-by-month. None of these services will give you the cream of Hollywood’s crop, but it comes the closest. For this reason, Netflix is going to be the best streaming value for most Kindle Fire owners.